Switch-tongue guard.



M. MALIA.

SWITCH TONGUE GUARD. APPLICATION FILED JULY 11, 1905.

ATTORN PATENTED AUG. 28, 1906.

UNITED STATES PATENT oEEIoE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Aug. 28, 1906.

Application filed July 11, 1905. Serial No. 269,170.

, T at whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, MATHEW MALIA, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Scranton, in the county of Lackawanna and State of Pennsylvania, have invented a new and Improved Switch-Tongue Guard, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description.

This invention relates to improvements in guards for the free ends of railway-switch tongues, the object being to provide a simple device to prevent chains, couplings, stretchers, or other devices that might be dragging from a car from catching over the end of an open switch-ton ue, thus preventing damage or possible accidents.

I will describe a switch-tongue guard embodying my invention and then point out the novel features in the appended claims.

Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification, in which similar characters of reference indicate corresponding parts in all the figures.

Figure 1 is a plan showing switch-tongue guards embodying my invention. Fig. 2 is a section on the line as a; of Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a section on the line y y of Fig. 2, and Fig. 4 is a perspective view of a tongue-guard.

The tongue-guard comprises a metal plate 1, upon which the free end of the tongue 2 is designed to slide, and therefore this plate is perfectly smooth on the upper side. As here shown the plate is secured to two ties by means of a spike 3 adjacent to the rail and forward of the tongue end and by means of spikes 4:, which pass through openings in flanges 5, extending upwardly from the inner edge of the plate, these flanges being designed to prevent the switch-tongue from moving 0 too far inward.

The guard consists of an upwardly-extended block 6 on the plate 1' and arranged to project across the free end of the switchtongue when the tongue is in open position, as clearly indicated in Fig. 1. This block projects above the plane of the tongue, and on the side opposite the end of the tongue it is rounded, so that should a chain or other device engage therewith it will be deflected over or to one side of the tongue.

The outer edge of the plate 1 has inclined portions 7 for engaging upon the base-flange of the rail, thus forming a solid foundation.

Having thus described my invention, I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent- 1. A switch-tongue guard comprising an upwardly-extending fixed block positioned to project across the free end ofthe switchtongue when in open position, the said block being extended above the plane of the switchtongue and rounded at its side opposite the end of the switch-tongue.

2. A switch-tongue guard comprising a slide-plate secured to the railway-ties, a flange extended upward of the inner edge of said plate and a guard-block projected upward from said plate and adapted to extend across the free end of a switch-tongue when in open position.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

MATHEW MALIA.

Witnesses:

W. HAYDEN EvANs, NELLIE DUFFY. 

